Lecturer says referendum wording is 'ambiguous'

While the announcement of the children's rights referendum has been broadly welcomed, concerns are being raised about a possible lack of clarity in the wording.

Children's Minister Frances Fitzgerald officially announced the wording yesterday ahead of the November 10 vote.

Article 42A provides for, among other things, the voice of the child to be heard and the interests of the child to be pursued.

However, the wording of the referendum deviates from that which was recommended by a 2010 Oireachtas committee, chaired by Mary O'Rourke.

Conor O'Mahony, who is a lecturer in constitutional law at University College Cork, says he is concerned that the wording is ambiguous.

Meanwhile, another lecturer from the Department of Law in UCC said yesterday that the childrendsreferendum.ie website should also be available in Irish due to the ‘huge constitutional importance’ of the language.